We need to stop complaining about "bad homilies"

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Lifeisbeautiful3 said:
Joking aside, the priests’ homilies don’t tend to be as good as they could be. Many people would appreciate more humor, modern-day connection/content, tonal inflection, etc. There are definitely priests who do this well, so I know it’s possible!!
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So, @SuscipeMeDomine wants better content. You want better delivery. (And a specific style of speaking that you personally enjoy.)

Your requests speak to subjective style preferences. Suscipe’s speaks to subjective content preferences. Next time you’re at Mass, look around at the congregation, and note how many distinct people (each with specific subjective preferences) are present. Also note that the congregation is of varying age, catechetical understanding, and desire to learn.

And let’s not forget that not every person is a talented essay writer or public speaker.

Are we certain, then, that the “they should put more effort into it” meme is a reasonable approach? 🤔
 
JackMcCoy said:
There was a movie back in the mid-1980s titled Mass Appeal. It contrasted an idealist young priest novice and a veteran priest who liked being a popular priest and gave entertaining sermons. See the movie.
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Ugh. Not an awesome movie.

The kid was a deacon, not a priest… and the movie showed him giving last rites. Oy… :roll_eyes:

And I won’t even get into the problematic plot elements… 😉
 
As I was working from memory about a movie made in the middle 1980’s, I did not remember that the young man was studying to become a deacon on his way to becoming a priest. Sorry for my mistake.
The movie itself was pretty good as it contrasted the difference between some priests who seem to give fluff sermons, not wanting to offend the flock, and those who do there best to tell parishioners what they need to hear and not what they want to hear.
It was well acted and well directed.
 
Hi Joy. I wasn’t going to post on this thread because I’ve got to “know” some of you and I don’t want be disrespectful in any way. But, anyway, if I may share:

I do at times judge a priest’s homily.

In order for me to prepare my ministry of music, I read and re-read and study the readings, review planning guides and music and select what I believe will best support the readings and the theme of Mass. Some of you know now that we use projection, and it is also my responsibility to choose proper backgrounds pertaining to the readings as well. That is my job and I take it very seriously. Ask my wife who sees me sometimes struggling over this!

By the same token, I believe that it is the priest’s “job” to do the same. Sure some (not all) are busy with hospital visits, teaching, and a variety of other tasks during the week, but that is what they signed up for and were ordained to do, even it means to “knock some sense into our heads.” I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say, please do! The worst offenders are those who use sources of prepared homilies, write some key points on some notebook paper and read it verbatim in a monotone voice without any eye contact at all. It is disheartening to hear a homily that goes off topic and then the Universal Prayer (which I also put together) and the songs I have finally chosen are not congruent.

The Homily is to expound on the readings, and even the Psalm of the day, and equate them to our lives today, so we have the nourishment of the Word to go out and spread the Good News, just as we are nourished on the words, prayers, and communion during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Both Liturgies (Word and Eucharist) should be in harmony with each other and nourish us in both ways. We should not be attending Mass just to receive the body and blood of Christ and some people in the pews think that. The Liturgy of the Word is just as important and the priest must be prepared to deliver effectively, enough so that we sit up and take notice. As an ordained priest, it is their responsibility to understand the readings and deliver a worthy homily, otherwise they would not have a course called “Homiletics” in the seminary.
 
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You are the reason, I “try” to stay to sing the recessional hymn. 🎤😅
 
A Homily should be about teaching the Faith and explaining it so that everyone can umderstand it.

I hate when Priests avoid talking about sin or Catholic Theology in their homlies
 
According to the plot summary I read he was also very pro-homosexual and was himself a former promiscuous bisexual.
 
It cracked me up after mass at the sacristy I couldn’t help but laugh
 
JackMcCoy said:
The movie itself was pretty good as it contrasted the difference between some priests who seem to give fluff sermons, not wanting to offend the flock, and those who do there best to tell parishioners what they need to hear and not what they want to hear.
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Yeah, but wasn’t the point that their interactions caused both to change their styles somewhat? The deacon learned that the “brick over the head” approach doesn’t work as well as pastoral sensitivity does, and Jack Lemmon learned that sometimes, a bit of firmness is necessary. I mean, the whole point of bringing up the different styles of homilies (IMHO) is to demonstrate that both fail to do what they’re supposed to do!

(And, he was already a deacon, not studying to become a deacon – which is why he was preaching at Mass in the first place! 😉 )
 
anon10271182 said:
According to the plot summary I read he was also very pro-homosexual and was himself a former promiscuous bisexual.
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The character of the deacon?

Yeah. Well, it was an 80’s movie, after all, and was based on a Broadway play. So, yeah… it brings up themes of the ordination of women and of homosexuality. Pretty par for the course for the 80’s…
 
I can’t imagine that complaining about “mediocre” or “uninspiring” homilies is encouraging young men to be open to the priesthood. It is a lot of pressure to be inspiring every single week. Also, what inspires one person might not inspire another. You can’t please everyone.

Thank you, OP, for giving me some food for thought.
 
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I am at mass for the Eucharist. Period. Some of you guys sound llike me when the elderly priest messes up the Eucharistic prayer. Not the words of consecration but just a word or two in the prayer. My husband then reminds me that the Eucharist was still valid.
We get to receive the body blood soul and divinity o f Christ. I am not going to complain about the preaching. Dislike it maybe but not complain.
 
Not just homilies. Mass, in general, has opportunity. Can maintain status quo for those who like it and add additional mass with lively/vibrant LOUD music before mass and as lead-in to homily for those who prefer it
 
There are bad homilies. There is this priest who is difficult to understand. With great effort I tried, but could only understand about half of his homily. When he spoke English words he was familiar with, he would say them very fast, not with normal emphasis.

As a test of comprehension, he started each homily with “a little joke” and he could gauge whether he was being understood. The problem was he did this every Sunday – “a little joke” – I don’t go to church for entertainment or jokes.

And, then, his subject matter was very predictable. Part of his homily was to inform us, if we didn’t already know, that it was seven weeks to ash Wednesday or 5 weeks to Christmas, for example. He seemed to put more emphasis on anticipating such feasts than in treating the day’s observance. So what if it was seven weeks to Ash Wednesday? We are adults and can figure out such things on our own, etc,

It was a relief to see him reassigned elsewhere. Some people spoke better Polish to him than he spoke English. If he composed a homily, I think it would be better to have a deacon read it or something like that. Am I intolerant of his speaking deficit - yes I have to say so. I don’t know what to do about that.
 
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We had a priest who grew up in Poland. He had a strong accent. It took a little more focus to understand his English. But over time I trained my ear to listen. After awhile it got easier to hear his words.
 
otrrl said:
It was a relief to see him reassigned elsewhere.
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This is a problem… If he’s not good, he shouldn’t be in the job! Reassignment to new jobs rarely works in companies either
 
If you spent the entire homily just praying for this priest it would be a great thing to do.

The Mass isn’t all about us, in that sense.

Offer the difficulty staring at the Body of Our Lord on the Crucifix.

But still there is plenty of “homily material” in the prayers of the Mass, in the readings…it’s impossible not to come out of the Mass with a concrete resolution for more holiness.
 
You make it sound as if the homily is nothing more than an intermission during Mass. Someone can listen to it, spend the time daydreaming, pray, or read the bulletin, and it’s all the same. Once the intermission is over we will get back to the real action of the Mass.

If the homily is so unimportant, why do you suppose it’s required on Sundays and holy days?’ Someone must think it has some function other than filling a little time.

In his recent installation homily, Bishop George Thomas of Las Vegas said:

The Council Fathers turned their attention to priests and deacons, saying that they have as their primary duty the proclamation of the gospel. We can never lose sight of the fact that good preaching is an integral part of the formation of souls. Effective preaching is a sine qua non in a vibrant, healthy parish. Priests and deacons were reminded of this by Pope Francis when he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium, “The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness to his people and his ability to communicate with them.”

dioceseoflasvegas.org/Home.html
 
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